Ticket or check holder.



M. MACDONALD.

TICKET 0R GHEGK HOLDER. AiPLIOATION FILED FEB. 15, 1908.

1,007,123, Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

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N'roN KLOCK CITYLINE witlnzsses:

Q agmj M 32 Inventor Murdoch Macdonald,

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRVAPH CD.,WASH1NGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MURDOCH MACDONALD, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MACDONALD TICKET AND TICKET BOX COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

TICKET OR CHECK HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

Application filed February 15, 1908. Serial No. 416,050.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MURDOCH MACDONALD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ticket or Check Holders, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to holders for tickets, checks, etc., that are arranged in pad form, one portion of the pad being within the holder and forming an auditors stub, the other portion being exposed and forming a receipt for transportation surrendered on a railway, or a receipt for goods purchased. These holders are provided with one, two, three or more sliding cutters and a severing edge whereby the exposed portion of each ticket or check can be suitably marked or cut and then severed.

I have previously invented and patented holders of the above-mentioned character which are of the strictly closed type. That is to say, the holders are loaded and locked by some person other than the conductor or other user, and when the tickets or checks are exhausted the said conductor or other user is compelled to use another loaded holder because he can not unlock the holder and insert a new ticket or check pad or reload an empty holder. Such an arrangement is entirely satisfactory for certain kinds or classes of services, but there are cases where it is desirable to permit the conductor or other user to open an empty holder and insert a pad.

The object of the present invention is to provide a holder for tickets or checks which can be loaded by the user or other person, subject to certain restrictions, whereby the interests of the employer are safeguarded.

In carrying out my invention a holder is provided of suitably strong yet light construction, comprising a top, sides and ends all rigidly united and a bottom which is hinged to the main body of the holder at one side and is continually urged by a spring to close. To state the matter in another way, a box is provided having a springpressed cover that tends at all times to shut. Between the bottom and one side of the holder the ticket or check pad projects so that the auditors stubs are concealed and the passengers receipts exposed. The side just referred to forms a severing edge and also supports the cutters. The pad comprises a plurality of duplicate sheets, each containing suitable data and piled one on top of the other. At the lower end, assuming the holder to be held in the left hand in position for use, the sheets are fastened together by glue or equivalent material and usually a coarse piece of fabric. The fastening is preferably limited to the exposed portion of the pad so that the auditors stubs when the passengers receipts are severed will be entirely free within the holder. This form of fastening serves to hold the sheets of the pad together yet leaves the sheets practically free to he severed one after the other. The pad is provided with one or more slots, usually two to prevent twisting, through which pins project that are carried by the spring-pressed bottom.

After a passengers check or receipt is severed, the pad as a whole is moved bodily into the holder by an amount sufficient to cause the auditors stub to be cleared from the severing edge and cutters, after which it is moved back to its normal position. Owir: g to the fact that the bottom is springpressed and the auditors stubs are unconfined within the holder, the withdrawing movement will cause the last-made auditors stub to be caught by the right-hand side wall which extends substantially perpendicular to the plane of the pad and is thereby prevented from getting under the severing edge again. The device is then ready for use again. This action is repeated until all of the sheets of the pad have been used, leaving only the backing sheet, which is made sufliciently stiff to assist in moving the pad into and out of the holder to free the auditors stubs.

After using up a pad the holder may be opened, preferably by the auditor or his agent, and the backing sheet and all of the auditors stubs removed, the latter being numbered consecutively. A new pad in all respects like the one above described is or may be inserted in the holder at this time; in any event, the holder is closed previous to being handed to the conductor or other user. The spring on the bottom may be suflicient for the purpose or force may be applied if necessary.

The means for preventing improper manipulation of the holder and the means for safeguarding the interests of the railroad or other employer will now be described: Between the bottom or other movable member and the main body of the holder is a lock; in the present illustration of the invention it comprises a ratchet and pawl, so arranged that it is operative for any desired thickness of pad, and which will automatically compensate for or take up the decreased thickness of the pad as the sheets are successively severed. In other words, as the pad gets thinner due to use, the bottom advances toward the severing edge and is locked in each of its new positions. The parts of the lock do not assume a new rela tion for each severed sheet, as this would necessitate too fine and delicate a construction, but only after a certain number of sheets are severed. At a point external to the holder is a means whereby the parts of the lock can be released to permit of reloading. This means and also the lock can be made in a variety of ways. I have elected to show as an embodiment of the invention a pivoted lever having a handle at one end and a means operated thereby which release the pawl and ratchet from mutual engagement, after which the holder can be opened.

It is evident that unless some means are provided to indicate the number of times that the holder is opened, the user could open the holder as often as desired, ascertain from the stubs the amount of transportation due the company and turn in that amount of cash or equivalent to the auditor, and this whether the cash and other form of transportation actually on hand was greater or less. In other words, one of the material advantages of the closed system of issuing receipts would be entirely lost. To provide for this a counter or register is arranged in a small compartment in or forming a part of the holder where it is inaccessible to the user, which counter or register is actuated step by step by the means that releases the parts of the look. This insures that each time the holder is opened a record is made, the figures on the dials of the counter showing through suitable openings in one end of the holder. hen the auditor receives the holder at the end of the trip or other stated time, an examination of his records, together with a comparison with those of the user and of the register of the holder itself will show whether or not the holder has been improperly opened, and if so the user can be called to account.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one of the embodiments of my invention, Figure l is a full sized plan View of the holder with a pad in place therein; Fig. 2 is an end view of the same; Fig. 3 is an enlarged end view showing the counter and the lock, the end wall of the holder having been removed to expose the parts;

and F 41 a detail view showing a cutter and the means for holding and guiding the same.

The casing is provided with a top 1, a flat spring-pressed hinged bottom 2, side walls 3 and 1, and ends 5 and 6. 7 is the fiat ticket or check pad located within the holder and held between the bottom'and the severing edge 8, the latter being formed by the lower edge of the side 4. The pad is provided with a fairly stiff backing sheet or piece 9, and the sheets are glued at 10 and reinforced by fabric. The pad and backing sheet are slotted at 10 to permit them to be moved forward and back, and in the slots and carried by the bottom are pins 10 The length of the slots determines the outward movement of the pad. They must also be long enough to permit the cut stubs to free themselves from the side of the holder carrying the cutters.

Extending longitudinally of the holder is a rod 11 on which the cutters 12 are mounted and guided, the latter having suitably shaped and sharpened ends to cut the successive sheets. Each cutter has an enlarged base 13 that rests on the rod and is guided thereby, and also by the front wall 1 and the turned-down edge 11 of the top. By means of this construction the cutters are securely held against twisting out of line, their supports or bases are out of the way, and at the same time they are readily moved by the user.

Located at one end of the holder is a wall 15 on which are mounted three dials 16, 17 and 18, the first having numbers thereon indicating units, the second numbers indicating tens, and the third numbers indicating hundreds. Each dial has teeth 19 and a sprin 20 which engages the teeth successively to prevent over-travel. On the units dial is a projection 21 which once for every revolution engages a tooth 22 on the tens dial, and below the plane of said teeth is a projection 23 that engages a tooth 24: on the hundreds dial and advances it one step.

Mounted on the bottom 2 and at the ends thereof are plates 25, one of which is or may be plain and serves to cover the pad while the other is provided with ratchet teeth 26 forming a part of the lock, that c0- operate with the pawl 27 pivotally supported by the wall 15. The pawl is normally urged into engagement with the teeth by the spring 28, the end of the latter resting on a pin 34 carried by the pawl and moving in a slot in the wall 15. Both the ratchet and pawl are located in the compartment containing the pad, while the register and actuating means therefor are located in the other compartment, the wall 15 being located between.

Pivotally mounted on the wall 15 is a handle, lever or actuator 29 which projects through the casing and is accessible to the user. It is provided with a thin fiat extension 30 which normally covers the slot in the top of the holder to prevent the insertion of a wire or equivalent device to fraudulently actuate the dials. As a further precaution, the actuator is mounted on the side of the wall 15 adjacent the pad while the dials are on the opposite. On the lever is a pin 31 that extends through the wall 15 and works in a diagonal slot in the reciprocating bar 32. On the right-hand end of the bar is a projection 33 that strikes the pin 3d on the locking pawl each time it is actuated and releases the parts of the look from engagement. Mounted on the bar is a springpressed detent 35 which engages the teeth 19 on the units dial, one after the other, and advances the same step by step each time the bar is actuated. The bar is brought back to its initial posit-ion as shown by the extension spring 36, its anchoring pin also acting as a guide for the bar. The bar is further guided by the pin 37 that has an enlarged head to hold the bar against the wall, and which is located in a slot in the bar. When the holder is closed the figures on the dials show through openings in the end 5 as shown in Fig. 2. These openings are covered by mica, celluloid or other transparent material, which serve to prevent fraudulent manipulation of the dials and also serve to keep out foreign matter.

In using the holders the cutters are adjusted to the desired positions opposite suitable data on the sheets, to indicate the place where the journey is started, finished and the direction of travel, or any other necessary or desirable information. The user then takes the upper sheet only and moves it upward about the severing edge as an axis until the cutters pierce the sheet to form tongues, after which by a downward stroke the re ceipt is severed. The pad is then moved by hand bodily into the holder to disengage the auditors stub and the tongues from the severing edge and cutters, after which it is moved outward to the position shown and the holder is again ready for use.

In reloading, the handle 29 is swung about its pivot which moves the bar to the right, and the units dial is first moved until the next number thereon shows through the opening in the casing, after which the looking pawl 27 releases the ratchet teeth 26, when the bottom can be swung outwardly exposing the interior to view. The handle is then released. The stubs and the backing sheet are next removed, a new pad mounted on the pins 10 on the bottom 2 and the holder closed. The closing of the parts causes the lock to become effective but the dials do not move. As the pad decreases in thickness the bottom is pressed nearer and nearer the severing edge, the pawl slipping over the ratchet teeth one after the other.

In practice I prefer to supply each conductor with one loaded holder and one or unloaded holders, together with enough pads to fill them. The conductor then issues receipts from the loaded holder until they are exhausted. He then opens one of the unloaded holders, which act is recorded by the counter or register, inserts a pad and closes the holder, and the same is ready for use. The holder or holders containing only the auditors stubs are then put aside and turned in at the end of the trip or at any predetermined time or place. The conductor is under strict orders not to open a holder after it has one been loaded, and if he does, the counter or register will indicate it, and comparison with the records kept by the auditor will indicate such fact. In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

WVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,

1. In a device of the character described, thecombination of a box-like structure having a movable wall that is normally partly open and is capable of assuming various intermediate positions between open and closed, a lock for fastening the wall in each of its several positions, a register to show how many times the holder has been fully opened by moving the wall, and a means for releasing the lock irrespective of the position in which it is holding the wall and for advancing the register.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a holder comprising a box-like structure, a hinged wall therefor, a lock for securing the wall in various positions between full open and closed, a counter to record the number of times that the wall is moved to fully expose the interior of said structure, a device which first actuates the counter and then releases the lock irrespective of the position of the wall, and a handle that projects outside of the box for moving the device.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a holder, a movable wall therefor, a ratchet and pawl for preventing the wall from being moved to expose the interior of the holder and which also form a lock capable of assuming intermediate looking positions, dials that record the number of times the wall is moved, a sliding bar which moves the dials step-bystep and also separates the ratchet and pawl, a lever for actuating the bar and one or more cutters mounted to slide on the holder whose cutting edges are adjacent the said wall.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a holder comprising a box-like structure, a hinged cover therefor, a lock for the cover comprising a ratchet and pawl, one of said parts being carried by the box and. the other by the cover, said parts being capable of assuming intermediate locking positions, a counter, an actuating bar movable from the outside of the box which first advances the counter and thereafter separates the ratchet and pawl, and a cutter that presents its cutting end to the cover.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a holder comprising a box-like structure, a hinged cover therefor, means tending to close the cover, a lock therefor, one part of the lock being carried by said structure and the other by the cover, said parts of the lock being capable of assuming intermediate locking positions, a register, a sliding bar located within said structure which moves the register and releases the lock irrespective of its position, and an operating handle that projects into said structure and is connected to the bar.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of a holder comprising a box, a hinged cover therefor, a lock for the cover comprising a ratchet and a pawl, one part of which is carried by the cover, a counter, a sliding bar within the box that advances the counter each time it is actuated, a wall within the box for supporting the counter and sliding bar, a means moved by the bar for releasing the lock, and a means extending from the inside to the outside of the box for moving the bar.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination of a holder comprising a box, a hinged cover therefor, a plate mount ed on the cover and provided with ratchet teeth, a pawl mounted on the box that is capable of engaging the teeth successively,

a counter, a sliding bar, a pawl on the bar for actuating the counter one step each time it is actuated, a means operated by the bar and timed to act after the counter is moved for moving the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet, and a means for actuating the bar.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination of a holder comprising a box, a movable cover therefor, sliding outters whose ends are presented to the cover, a wall at one end of the box which divides it into compartments, a counter located in one of the compartments, an actuator located in the same compartment, said counter and actuator being carried by the wall, a means carried by the actuator for moving the counter, a lock located in the other compartment, and carried by the opposite side of the wall, means projecting through said wall and into the path of the actuator for open.- ing the lock, and a hand operated device for moving the actuator.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination of a box and a hinged cover therefor between which cover and box the contents of the box project and are held by the cover, means tending to close the cover, a locking member carried by the'cover, a locking membercarried by the box which automatically locks the cover in new positions as the contents of the box are removed, a register to show how many times the cover is opened to fully expose the contents of the box, and a lever located outside of the box and projecting into it for first actuating the register and thereafter releasing the lock irrespective of the point of engagement of its members.

I11 witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of February, 1908.

MURDOCH MACDONALD.

WVitnesses:

JOHN H. PRICE, E. C. GEsSNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

